Voices

We believe India and China are two countries that can and should rise in the region simultaneously. The ascent of both countries is not confrontational, nor adversarial; it is mutually beneficial. When discussing the 21st century, people often term it the ‘Asian Century. Thats our shared destiny. We believe, despite the India-China border demarcation issue, there is enough room for our countries to cooperate on regional and global issues. Both China and India have a role to play in regional and global affairs. The rise of one is not at the cost of the other,

commented Shri Manish Tewari, spokesperson of the Indian National Congress Party, during an interview with a China Today journalist in Delhi. Mr. Tewari also cited some areas in which the two Asian powers could collaborate on the international stage, such as climate change and Middle East issues. He suggested there should be broader exchanges on a regular basis between the two countries youths.

envionmental protection is not an excuse to hike rare earth prices,

Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Su Bo said in response to criticism over Chinese policy on the metals, which are used in key components in many electric devices. According to Mr. Su, the metal extraction process in China is still far from efficient, with the recovery rates in state-owned mines at 60 percent and as low as five percent at illegal sites. This causes tremendous damage to the environment and demands tighter regulation in the industry. The technology currently used in extraction is known as in-situ leach mining, which involves pumping large amounts of ammonium sulfate solution into ore bodies via boreholes. This leaves toxic residues in the earth for long periods and can pollute groundwater. To date there is no feasible solution to this pollution problem in China. He announced that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other authorities are to push forward with new regulations on the rare earth production industry to combat illegal mining, black market transactions and smuggling.